1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a moving shelf assembly, having moving shelf main bodies capable of moving by means of wheels attached to the lower portion whose motion is guided by rails built on the upper portion. Furthermore, the present application is based on the contents of Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 9-182875, the contents of which are incorporated hereinto by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an example of a conventional moving shelf assembly. Reference 1 is the moving shelf main body, 2a and 2b are rails, and 3 are stopper shelves.
Moving shelf main body 1 is assembled by means of four poles 4 extending vertically providing multiple support for a plurality of shelving 5 arranged therebetween, and is made capable of moving by wheels 6 attached to the lower edges of poles 4. Four plugs 7 are formed by vertically extending the upper portions of poles 4 from the upper portion of moving shelf main body 1. A pair of rails 2a and 2b are horizontally installed on the lower surface of the ceiling of the building or in the neighborhood of the ceiling, and guiding grooves 8 are open on the lower surfaces of rails 2a and 2b. The above-mentioned plugs 7 are respectively inserted in guiding grooves 8, and as a result moving shelf main body 1 is made capable of moving horizontally, travelling on floor 9 along the above-mentioned rails 2a and 2b. Stopper shelves 3, which prevent moving shelf main body 1 from breaking out of the established movement range 10, are disposed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of rails 2a and 2b.
In addition, as indicated in FIG. 8, spacers 11 are attached to the upper ends of plugs 7, and by means of the contact between the spacers 11 and the inner surface of guiding grooves 8, moving shelf main body 1 is stabilized and moves along guiding grooves 8 without shaking.
Generally, in this type of moving shelf, a plurality of moving shelf main bodies 1 are disposed within scope of movement 10 as shown in FIG. 7. Consequently, when taking items in and out, the troublesome operation of moving a plurality of moving shelf main bodies 1 within the scope of movement 10 in order to assure workspace around the periphery of the targeted moving shelf main body 1 is necessary. In particular, in cases where a conveyor wagon is employed for taking items in out, it is preferable for the conveyor wagon to be brought into scope of movement 10 from path 12 close to moving shelf main body 1 in order to improve the working properties. However, to ensure space around the periphery of the targeted moving shelf main body 1 for the conveyor wagon to enter, the necessity arises for large movements of the plurality of moving shelf main bodies 1, which creates further troublesome operations.